Queen Anne's Lace
by Maddie Beth
Summary: 84 years have passed since Katniss Everdeen died in the 74th Hunger Games, and with her, the last hope of rebellion. With the Capitol stronger than ever, and the Games in full swing, will one girl from District 12 be able to make it home?
1. Velvet and Lace

**Here goes then. Just spitballing, and I don't know, I tried this ****J**

I was dead.

Or as good as anyway.

I climbed the stairs to the stage in silence. I heard a muffled cry, and then quiet sobbing from somewhere in the crowd. When I finally reached the stage and looked out into the mass of faces, I could pick out my father, tears streaming down his cheeks from his eyes rimmed in red.

I scanned the rows of children looking for another familiar face. There. Garrick. I tried to gauge his reaction, but to no avail. He was always good about hiding any of his thoughts away from the public eye. I took strength in his calm face, his eyes looking back at mine as if he knew how scared I was, and he was trying to tell me that it would be alright.

I stood on stage, frozen, going through the expected motions. They called the boy tribute up. I didn't notice him, didn't recognize him, didn't really see him. I shook his hand, and then, we were whisked away to the Justice Building.

I was shoved into a dull room, and the door behind me was slammed. There was a single sofa, a very old red velvet piece, and I sat down. As I did so, a layer of dust rose from the cushions. I assumed that this room was only used once a year. I waited. Then, the door opened. I saw a gnarled hand first, and instantly I knew it was my father. I ran forward and hugged him. He held me to him with his good arm, his injured one hanging useless at his side as usual. His breath moved my hair as he tried desperately not to cry in front of me.

"It's okay Daddy," I whispered, "it's going to be okay." He sniffed, and held me at arms length.

"I want you to know that you are the best daughter any man could ever ask for. Be strong, don't let them break you. Never forget who you are Aven, do you understand me?"

"Yes Daddy," I said, my voice wavering, on the verge of tears. We both knew that I was going to die, and for my father that was all to real a feeling.

"_Is Mammy going to be okay Daddy?" I asked, my little four-year-old hand reaching for his calloused one. _

"_I hope so Aven," my father said. _

_My mother died. _

_When it happened, my father sat me down and told me that Mammy was going to a very very nice place. We couldn't see her for a while, but when we did she would be all better. I thought that dying was a good thing. My daddy obviously didn't. He drank a lot after Mammy died, he stayed out late, and when he got home, all he did was throw up and "sleep it off." _

_Garrick said dying was bad, and that's why Daddy was acting like that. Garrick's brother died just like my mammy. _

_Daddy got very very mad sometimes when he came home from drinking. He sang old songs, about dying for something. I wasn't sure what the something was. Sometimes he referred to it as a woman, other times as land. I can't remember the name of the thing anymore. I just remember it being a strange word that started with some vowel. When he got mad, I could hear him fighting with my big brother Malachy. Malachy was nine then. Five years older than me. _

_Then, one night, Malachy was asleep. I sat up in the kitchen, on the table, in my nightgown, with a very old storybook, so that when my daddy came home he could read it to me. It was three o'clock when my father stumbled over the threshold of our tumbledown house. _

"_Daddy!" I shrieked gleefully. He gave me a disgusted look, and went past me to the cabinets, looking for something. He muttered under his breath, and then turned to me. _

"_Whersa bread?" he asked me, his shoulders slumping forward, and his head hung down. _

"_In my tummy Daddy! Mal said I could have the last piece, on account of he wasn't hungry. It's three, daddy, did you know there was a three in the night? Will you read me a story? Only, Mal said 'not tonight' and I really really want to hear it. Please?" _

_My father gave me the same look he had given me when he walked in the door. _

"_Shuddup you little monster." _

"_Daddy, Mammy says that Shut up isn't nice, so you can't say it!" _

"_Shuddup, you little bitch! Your mom is dead! It's your own damn fault! You killed her! And you ate my bread, that I work hard to put on this table!" he was enraged. He lurched forward suddenly. I jumped backwards, scrambling to get off the table. My eyes stung, I was about to cry. Daddy never yelled at me when Mammy was here. I missed Mammy. Daddy stumbled around the table, holding himself up with one arm while with the other he reached out and grabbed my arm. He squeezed hard, and it hurt. I screamed. He grabbed my hair with his other hand, and pulled my face close to him. He smelled funny. Not like my daddy used to smell. He grabbed my chin and told me again to shuddup. Then he slapped me. I screamed and started crying. I heard Malachy start to run down the stairs. My father grabbed my face again, and slurred a string of syllables together before slapping me so hard that I fell, his grip on my arm being the only thing that prevented me from hitting my head on the stone floor. My shoulder hurt, and I screamed again. _

_Then, Malachy was there, and he somehow managed to pry me away from my father. He took me and put me on his hip, then ran out the door. _

"_Come back here!" Daddy yelled after us. _

"_No! You'll hurt her! You son of a bitch!" Malachy was crying too, I saw, but he was quiet about it, not like me, screaming my head off as I was. _

_Malachy took us to Garrick's house. His mother was a healer. Malachy had a nasty black eye. It was swollen and yellow. He always had boo-boos these days, he told me not to worry, so I didn't. He made Mrs. Hart take care of me first. I had a little cut on my cheek, and Mrs. Hart said that my shoulder was dislocated, but that was all. Malachy had an infection in his black eye, and he had a broken hand. I didn't know how either happened. I never learned either. I played with Garrick while he told Mrs. Hart what happened. _

_My daddy never hit me again, and he never drank for the rest of his life. _

Malachy was the next person to visit me. He grabbed me up in his hug, picking me up just like he used to. Mal was twenty now. He was a grown up.

"Listen to me Av-" he said, putting me down again, "you come back. I don't care how you do it, just do it. Come home. Kill every single one of them if you have to."

He was the best big brother in the world.

_When Malachy was nineteen, he had saved up enough money from three years of working in the mines so that he could buy his own house. He wanted me to live with him. He had never really forgiven my father for his few months of drunkenness. _

_I told him that I wanted to stay. Daddy needed me, I told him. _

_He didn't agree. _

_But, he told me that if I ever needed a place, or if I ever wanted to get away from my dad, he would be there. _

_In the end, I missed Mal so much that I spent every other night at his house. I had a room there. _

I spent the night before the Reaping at Mal's house. He had learned how to do my hair when I was little. He used to do it everyday, until I was old enough to do it myself. But on Reaping days, he always brushed it out, "100 magical strokes," he said, laughing. Then he would braid it, so that there was a braid encircling my head, like a headband almost, and the rest of my hair would fall down my back.

Garrick came in next. He too hugged me. He held one arm around my waist and put the other on my head, holding it to his chest. He put his chin on the top of my head.

"There's my Canary. I'll be here you know," he said. "When you get off of that train. When you come back. And I'll hug you and then I'll steal you away from everybody and we can go to the woods, and I'll sit in that clearing with you forever. We never have to leave if you don't want to. If you want, I-I'll build us a house there, and we'll just vanish. They'll never look for us. You'll be safe, I promise you." He kissed the top of my head and then he hugged me even tighter. I broke away just a little bit, to look up at his face. There were a few tears running down his face too. I touch his cheek, and I try to smile, but I start to cry. I return to the hug, squeezing him tightly. I clung to him for what seemed like forever, and he told me all about the house that he would build us, and how I could decorate everything with flowers, and when I got back, the house would already be there, and he would put Queen Ann's Lace all around it, because he knew it's my favorite flower.

_I was six when Garrick, now my best friend, showed me the hole in the fence that lead out of the district. Garrick's brother had shown him. There was a forest there. My favorite place in the world was a clearing in that forest. From there I could see everything. I could see mountains in the distance, the trees over head, and below, a small stream, where animals would come to drink. _

_Garrick never much cared for the clearing that much himself. He much rather preferred to be moving about, exploring, and climbing. Of course, I loved to run and climb just as much as he did, but I also liked to just sit and watch and listen. When we were younger, he never sat with me, after proclaiming that it "looked boring." _

_Then, when we got older, he sometimes sat down with me and looked around. Well, he did confess that mainly he looked at me, looking around, trying to see what I saw in all of it. The clearing became our place, and anytime that either of us was upset, we went there. We were inseparable. I really didn't know anyone else. I knew a few of Malachy's friends, but they could hardly count as friends of mine. In the end, Garrick was always my best and only friend. _

_He was two years older than I was, and at sixteen, he left school, just like everyone else in District 12. To work in the mines. The first year he was gone was awful. I no longer had anyone to talk to, walk with or eat lunch with. Well, that wasn't entirely true. At the school, we were allowed to go home for lunch. In fact, it was encouraged. Students either brought their lunch or went home to it. The school was far too poor to provide food for the children. _

_I would pack a lunch, normally an apple, for berries that I found in the forest. Then, I would leave school and go to the mines. I would wait at the top of the mine shaft, and I would whistle down. I would hear a whistle back, and then Garrick would take his lunch break to talk to me. _

The Peacekeepers came in then, and Garrick quickly let me go.

"Be careful Av! Please! Aven, come home, okay? Come home!" He yells, as the Peacekeepers start to pull him out of the room. No. No. No, no no! No, they're taking him away!

"Garrick!" I scream, trying to grab his outstretched hand. A Peacekeeper grabbed me, holding me back.

"Don't be stupid Aven! Stay safe!"

"I won't! Take care of Daddy! Don't let him start drinking! Please!"

"I promise!"

Garrick disappeared, and the Peacekeeper holding me shoved me behind him and closed the door. I heard the lock click, and sat down on the sofa. This was it. I was going to the Games now. I was probably going to die. But I was going to try _very_ hard to win.

**A/N: Okay, well there was that. Not sure how well I like it, in fact, I'm not sure if I like it at all. But, I guess I'll continue with it from here, and not have many (if any) flashbacks from here on out. I don't know, anyway, if you got this far, then thanks so much, and I'd love reviews, (hint hint) J **

**~Maddie**


	2. Emerald Green and Mahogany

I was in the dining car, sitting silently across from my district partner, Bryn.

He was older than me, bigger than me too. In fact, he was slightly intimidating. We had already eaten, and just the two of us remained sitting there, not knowing what to do with ourselves. My arms are wrapped around my legs that are drawn up to my chest.

"So," he said. He was leaning back in his chair, one hand on the table, tracing shapes in the wood. I didn't reply. "Okay. Well, I know that this isn't the opportune moment, but, I think that, well, seeing as we're going to be spending the next few weeks together, maybe we should be friends." I was quiet. Bryn sighed. "Okay, that's alright too," he said, standing up. He turned around and started to leave.

"Wait," I said, not looking up from my knees. "Okay. I'm Aven. I'm fifteen. I lived in the Seam."

"Really? You don't exactly look like it," Bryn smiled as he came back and sat down across from me once again. Of course, he was right. I always stood out at home, my red hair was rare throughout the district, and that with my pale skin and brown eyes made me look as though I were adopted. But Dad always said that I looked just like my mother.

"Yeah, well my mother was from town. Her whole family was. My dad, on the other hand, all Seam. Mam's parents were pretty mad at her for marrying Dad. They disowned her."

"Well that's not very nice. How did your mom take it?"

"I don't know exactly. She died when I was little. I can't really remember her."

"Oh. I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I know what that's like. Both my parents died too. From the Fever. I was young then too."

"I remember that. That's how my mom went. I'm sorry for you too. I don't know what I would do without my dad."

"It wasn't that bad. I mean, obviously, I miss them, but it got easier over the years. My little sister and I went to live with my grandparents."

"You have a little sister? I always wanted one."

"Yeah," Bryn beamed. "Livy. She's ten now. I'm sixteen by the way. She's the best little sister in the world. This year I started working in the mines, and every day when I get home she would be waiting right inside the door, and then jump up and give me the biggest hug."

I laugh, just a little. "That reminds me of my brother. I was his little sister, running to meet him when he came home. I wonder if you know him? Malachy Willowsby?"

"No, sorry, that doesn't sound familiar. Maybe I've seen him around though. Does he look like you?"

"No no, he looks like my dad. I guess that's generally how it is, isn't it, the older one looks like they're from the Seam and the younger one looks like a merchant. That's what I've heard at least."

"Well, I know Livy looks just like a little girl version of me, but both of our parents were from the Seam."

Just then, our mentor, Jago, entered the room. "Come on," he said, "time to go watch the Reapings."

We followed him to another car, the lounge car. There was a large television screen, and on it, the frozen image of District 1's stage. Jago sat down on the sofa and pressed a button on a remote. The Reapings began. I made a mental list of everybody.

District One

Girl: Polexia

Age-17

Boy: Alix

Age-18

District Two

Girl: Silver

Age-14

Boy: Sage

Age-17

District Three

Girl: Katri

Age-16

Boy: Jareth

Age-18

District Four

Girl: Saffra

Age-18

Boy: Phox

Age-18

District Five

Girl: Merope

Age-17

Boy: Noam

Age-17

District Six

Girl: Terra

Age-12

Boy: Spens

Age-15

District Seven

Girl: Nerissa

Age-17

Boy: Griffin

Age-16

District Eight

Girl: Blythe

Age-14

Boy: Atlas

Age-18

District Nine

Girl: Orchid

Age-15

Boy: Hawk

Age-13

District Ten

Girl: Emmeline

Age-14

Boy: James

Age- 16

District Eleven

Girl: Lily

Age-16

Boy: Ezra

Age-14

District Twelve

Girl: Aven

Age-15

Boy: Bryn

Age-16

When I got back to my room I wrote down my list, then folded it up and put it on my bedside table. I would make sure that I had it as a reference point. I would know everything about everyone if I could.

That night it was impossible to sleep. All I could see was my death, over and over, at the hands of 23 different people, in 23 different ways.

Sage from District 2 was the most terrifying. He was practically a giant. About three times my height as well as muscle density. I was no where near an even match compared to him. If I was unfortunate to get on the wrong side of his weapon, I would never make it back home.

I told myself that I would get on his good side. Try to get to know him and maybe the other Careers. They were all so much bigger than me, but maybe I could get in with their group and then slit their throats while they slept.

No. That was ridiculous. They were people, and while I had no doubts that they were cruel and vindictive, that was no excuse for me to be as dreadful as them. But I would protect myself. If anyone tried to kill me I would do what I had to.

That was my resolution. I would kill, I decided, if need be. But I would not hunt for sport.

**Ehhh, I don't know if I really like this…. I promise that the next chapter will be much much better! Thanks for reading! Although, I'll only know that you did if you review…..**

**~Maddie**


	3. Silver and Feathers

**Okay, so chapter 3! Just put 2 up, and now I'll start this, and I'll try to get it uploaded post haste. Here goes!**

My prep team was positively terrifying. They all had garishly colored hair, one bright pink, another orange and yellow, and the last a shocking deep purple. The third was the one that scared me the most. His skin, his actual _skin was either dyed or tattooed, so that it looked as if he was a leopard. _

_I was quite scared of leopards. Garrick showed me a picture of one when we were little, and told me that they lived in the woods, and they liked to eat little red-haired girls. Naturally, I believed him, as I had never heard of such a thing as a leopard before, and I assumed that if Garrick knew what it was, he knew what it liked to eat. It was not until weeks later when I had refused to go with my friend into the woods that he told me he had been kidding, and just come on, would I._

_Nevertheless, I was always uneasy at the thought of those giant spotted cats. _

_Then, they started scrubbing every inch of me. They waxed my body from head to toe, and it took all of my reserve not to cry out. It was as if my skin were being seared. Then they moved on to my hair. They washed it thoroughly over and over, then ushered me over to a chair where they dried it, and let it fall down over the chair's back so that it almost touched the ground. When I let my hair down, it trailed down to mid-thigh. I had cut it only a few times in my life. After my mother died, I cut it myself, incredibly short, and afterward, never cut it again. _

_The head stylist came in, and observed me as if I was on display. He drew the prep team aside and told them what to do with me. Then, as they surrounded me and began to cut my hair, he came over and started talking to me. _

"_Hello Aven." His voice was soft and gentle, and although he looked strange-he was bald and had shiny gold skin-his eyes were unadultered dark brown. There were crinkles at the edges of his eyes from smiling, and I decided that he was nice. "My name is Lennox, and we are going to make you the envy of the districts, because I want you to win." I nodded, and he smiled, then left me with my prep team. _

_When they were done with me, my hair was wild- there were tight ringlet curls from my scalp to my knees. It was longer, and I had no idea how. Didn't haircuts make your hair shorter? I asked the lady with the pink hair, who was standing closest to me. _

"_Why yes dear, we just gave you a trim, then put in extensions and gave you a perm. Do you like it?" I looked at myself in the mirror she handed me. My hair had been cut in such a way that it framed my face and slowly melted into the long tendrils. I did like it, and I nodded to her, smiling just a little bit. She smiled back, and when she did, I noticed the red and turquoise gems set into her teeth. I was taken aback, and nearly jumped. She had already whirled around and taken the mirror with her somewhere behind me, and I could no longer see her. The leopard man told me to lay back as my chair began to recline, so that I was now lying down. _

_He instructed me to close my eyes, it was time for my make-up. I had never worn make-up a day in my life. No one did back home, it was a foreign concept to me entirely. I flinched the first hundred times they touched my face, but eventually, I was able to keep still. When they had finally finished, my chair was righted and a mirror was handed to me again. I opened my eyes. I was shocked. I looked so strange, but I looked beautiful. There was a thick line of shimmering silver eyeliner on my top eyelid, and my eyelashes were extremely long and dark. My eye shadow was silver and dark gray, blended together to create an alluring effect. My lips were painted dark red, and my skin was so smooth and perfect. _

_Lennox entered then, pushing something in the shape of a human covered in white cloth. Of course, my costume for the chariot ride. Every year they were the same, always on fire. It was so predictable, and so boring. He beamed at me, and I had to smile back as he said, "I now present you, my dear, with…" he pulled the cloth away and I stood staring at a beautiful mess of fabrics. I put it on, with help from Lennox and my prep team, as the garment was extremely fragile, and very difficult to put on. _

_When I was clothed, and standing in front of a mirror, I loved it. I was a canary. Fitting. _

_In the mines back home, there would always be a caged canary in each shaft. Then, if the canary stopped singing, it was because it was dead, and the miners could get out before they died too. Garrick called me his canary. He would get a kick out of this. _

_The dress was actual pale yellow feathers, and it contoured perfectly to my body. It was low cut, and displayed my chest. I suppose they had counted on a girl with a larger chest. Nevertheless, it did look good, and the skirt was cut in a high-low fashion that displayed my legs quite well. They had me put on large silver high heeled shoes that I was practically incapable of walking in. The back of the dress turned into a beautiful train that I had to be very careful not to step on. It was so ethereal and light that it seemed almost to float around me. Lennox took a few strands of my hair from either side of my face and braided them back around my head, then pinned them in place and stuck a feather headpiece where they met. _

_I took one last look at myself as I was ushered down through the massive building to where the chariots were already lined up. Many tributes were already there, and some arrived at the same time as us, or slightly later. Bryn was already there, standing in our chariot at the very end, dressed in an outfit much like mine, but with a shirt with a plunging V-neck made from feathers and silver pants. He looked incredibly handsome, and on closer inspection I realized that he too was wearing make-up. His dark hair had been cut shorter and more evenly, and I realized that he was indeed very muscular. The crowd would love him. They would love us. Never had District 12 been birds before. Just fire and coal. _

_From somewhere, there came the 10 minute call, and Bryn and I assumed our positions. _

"_This is it," he said from the corner of his mouth. I smiled, and took the hand he offered me. I squeezed it, looking up at him, although with these heels on, he was just a few inches taller. _

"_We can do it," I said, reassuringly. "Smile and wave, just smile and wave." _

"_Hold on tight," he said. _

_He was pale, and I assumed that I was too, but I couldn't show Bryn that I was scared, because for some reason, I had to be strong for him. _

_As the doors opened, and the chariots started to roll out, my hands started sweating, and my heart beat faster and faster. But my smile was plastered on my face, and as soon as we hit the light and the screams, I wasn't nervous anymore. I was charismatic, flirty, and when I chanced a glance at my district partner, I saw the same in him. _

_We locked eyes for a moment, and in that moment, we both knew that we were a team. We could do this. The district partner rule was still in effect, and although it had never been done, maybe we could do it. We could both get home. In that instant, he was my best friend. I raised my hand and waved to the crowd, smiling coyly. I flipped my hair and flashed another smile. They loved us. For the first time in more than three quarters of a century, District 12 wasn't on fire. _

_So yeah, no idea if that was any good. But oh well, only you can tell me! So please do so. Please. Please? Pleaseee?_

_Thanks!_

_~Maddie_


	4. Charcol and Crimson

**Oh poopy. Okay, so I had almost an entire chapter all typed out, but then I realized-wait-training week comes first, not the interviews. Sooooo crap. Here we go again kiddies!**

I really did not want to go in. I just stood there-at the door to the training room. I braced myself, and opened the door. Bryn and I were the last ones there. Before we had left our room this morning, Jago had told us to make friends and allies.

I looked around at the faces of the people I would be sentenced to death with. The careers stood out instantly of course. I picked the boy from 2-Sage, as I remembered- out instantly. He was the biggest person in the room, and I was fairly certain that if he wanted to, he would be able to pop of my head with his thumb, like children do with dandelions. After the initial shock of seeing him, I saw the rest of them. His district partner, Silver, was very tall, and thin, yet incredibly toned, and her hair was so light a blonde it was literally almost silver. I remember suddenly that she is just fourteen years old, and yet, looking at her now, she seems so much older. The District 1 tributes are just as intimidating. They were both brutish in terms of physique, and the scowls they wore seemed permanently etched into their faces, making them all the more threatening. The girl, Polexia, was particularly nasty. I watched her shove a boy out of the way to get to the maces. District 4 was slightly less terrifying at first, as they were both just medium sized, but then I watched as they dueled each other with swords, and instantly they seemed ten times more threatening. They laughed as their swords clanged together and eventually, the boy, Phox pinned Saffra, his partner, down. He helped her up again, and then they went back to join Districts 1 and 2. Sage clapped Phox on the back, as if welcoming him. Then I realized that they had both just earned their spots in the most dangerous alliance.

Bryn and I would be allies. We hardly needed to discuss it. We had become friends, and besides, the rule that was instated in the 74th Games was still in effect, although never had both tributes returned to a District. I'd seen the tapes of those Games. Of course, now it was a tradition. They were by far the most exciting for the Capitol, though the 106th was also a favorite. The 74th are shown every year in preparation for the Reapings. For years, I would cry when the monster of a boy from 2 killed the boy who had almost managed to kill his partner, and then when he killed Peeta, and Katniss killed the girl from 2, and the boy then killed her, I couldn't stop sobbing. However, it had been a few years since I had watched those Games, or any of the recaps in fact. I watched the bare minimum. They were sickening. And now I almost wished that I had watched more. Maybe then I would have been better prepared for this.

Bryn and I decided to start by climbing. I was quite good at climbing, but Bryn was another story. He had grown up around the Seam too, but he had only ventured into the forest a few times, all to hunt when there was a particularly rough patch for his grandfather's work. For me, climbing and running were essential life skills, and it was a wonder to me how he had never managed to pick them up.

There was a tall net that went all the way up the wall and spanned across the whole ceiling of the large room. I scaled it quickly, and looked down to see Bryn struggling near the bottom.

"Use your legs!' I called down to him. "Good! Now, reach up!" It did take him some time, but eventually he was at the top with me. "See?" I laughed, "That wasn't dreadful!" He smiled slightly, and made the mistake of looking down.

It seems so trivial. He looked down. Well, that wasn't a big deal, after all he was already at the top. But for someone who has never climbed so high before (and it was quite high indeed, anywhere from 15 to 20 feet would be my guess) it is an enormous problem. He tensed, paled, and began to breathe heavily.

"Oh. That-that's high." he said, trying to keep calm. I knew that about a thousand thoughts must be running through his mind at the moment, and I tried to get him to focus on me.

"Bryn, Bryn. It's going to be okay. Here. I'm going to go down ahead of you, and if you fall, I'll catch you. Okay? Just do exactly what I tell you and it'll be okay." I scampered down so that I was just a few steps below him, and started telling him to move his right leg, then his right arm, then his left leg, then his left arm. In this fashion we proceeded all the way down the ladder, and then we were back on the floor. From around the room, particularly the Careers, we could hear jeers directed at Bryn. I looked over and saw that they were indeed coming mainly from the boy from 2. I sneered at him, although I was quite ready to faint when our eyes met, and Bryn and I went to the archery station. There, I watched as he hit 12 bull's-eyes in a row, thus regaining what pride he had hurt at the climbing station. We parted ways then, and I scaled the net again, this time going to the ceiling net, and I practiced jumping and rolling across half of the room, then when I got to the middle, I dropped through one of the holes and proceeded the rest of the way as if the netting was monkeybars on a playground. I climbed back down halfway of the other wall, and then, making sure that the Careers were in rather close proximity, braced myself. I had seen Garrick do this many times, and he had taught me. I could do it, I knew that I could, but what if now, I couldn't? What if a mistake here killed me, and I didn't even have a chance of going home? No. That would not happen.

And then I jumped from the net and twisted myself around in the air, doing two flips, and landing on my feet on the mat. I straightened up, and saw that the Careers, and in fact many other tributes had seen me. I tried my best not to smile just a little, knowing that I had done well. I left the ropes and went over to Bryn at the plant station. It definitely wasn't my strong suit, but I was fairly good at memorizing things, so the second time around, I got about 75% right. I went then to the fire building station, where I was joined by the girl from 5 and the boy from 7. I remembered their names easily, having studied my list over and over every night as I laid in bed. Merope and Griffin.

"So, you're from 12, right?" Griffin asked, sitting next to me. I nodded, and forced myself to look at him.

Merope sat on my other side, and introduced herself and the boy on my other side. "And your name is Aven?" When I nod again, she tells me it's a beautiful name. I thank her. "Now Aven, Griffin and I are in an alliance. Would you like to join us?"

"Can my District partner join too?" I ask.. I see them look at each other, and without talking they decide together.

"Sure." Griffin said. "By the way, if you want that to light, you should make it more like…" he takes my pile of twigs and shapes it into a sort of cone shape, then arranges tinder around it in seemingly strategic positions in just a few seconds, "_this_." He takes a match and lights it under the pile, which is soon engulfed in flame. "Of course, if you don't have matches, you'd have to start it with friction. Here." He moves over to a fresh pile of tinder and a clean area and beckons me to follow him. Merope gets up and goes to another station. He takes a larger piece of rather flat wood and then puts a small amount of tinder on top of it. He takes a stick then, and starts rolling in in his palms so that one end is pressing into the tinder on the wood. It does not take long for a spark, and then the tinder is alight. "You'd just put that in one of those," he points to the fire he had made previously, "and you'd be good to go. Oh, and just be sure to never use green wood, that smokes like nothing else. So. Do you want to try your hand at some weapons?"

I agree, and we go over to a wall of them. There are every sort of blade or bludgeoning object imaginable. Griffin picks up a few spears, and I choose knives. His throws are surprisingly accurate, and almost all hit fatal areas on the dummy he had been aiming at. I try on the one next to his, and I'm not quite as successful. I miss the dummy entirely on my first two tries, hit the shoulder on the third, and finally on the fourth, I hit the chest.

"Way to go Aven!" Griffin says, turning to high-five me. I smile and return the gesture. "Who would have thought out of that tiny body!"

"I am not tiny, you all are just huge." I say, smiling, knowing that he's only joking. And yet he is huge. Well, huge would be an exaggeration, but he's definitely large enough to pose a threat to many of the tributes, and seemingly strong enough. We both get our weapons out of the dummies, and go again. This time, we are both more accurate, and only one of my daggers misses the target entirely while just one hit's a non-lethal area.

I look over to see Merope at the snare station talking to Bryn. I smile slightly. This is going well.

I choose to stay with the knives, and Griffin goes over to the weights. As I draw back my arm to throw my third knife, I feel heat behind me, and feel the hair by my ear move as someone says "Boo." I jump, and the knife I let go of went askew, missing the dummy completely. I whirl around, my last dagger poised at the ready. It is Sage, and I am facing directly into his chest, he's so much taller than me. I take a step back and look up at him. "My my, see how the birdy jumps!" he chuckles, stepping closer to me. I back away again. "Are you scared of me?" he asks.

"Not really." I answer, although my heart is pounding a mile a minute, and I have to keep myself from running away faster than frog can jump.

"That's good. I don't want you to be. I like you, Birdy. You're clever, aren't you?" I don't speak as he just looks at me, his eyes raking me over from head to toe. "I want you in our alliance, Birdy. But the others don't agree with me. And I suppose you think I'm psychotic. I've gotten that look a lot today. I'm not. And I think that your cleverness might just let you almost win. I'll win of course, but I'll be awfully sad when I have to kill you. Such a waste. For what it's worth, you would have made a good Career. You and I would have made great friends."

"Don't ally with them then." I say quietly.

"What was that?" he says coyly, and we both know he heard me.

"Don't ally with them. Don't play into it."

"And I thought you were clever. See Birdy, I'm going home. And that's the alliance to be in. You know what, come with me, and maybe we can prove you're worth it." He grabs my hand, and pulls me with him across the room. I look everywhere for someone to help me. I'm going to die before the Games even start. He's going to kill me and I know it.

There is a large mat, and all day I've seen people fighting on it. Now, Sage pulls me onto it with him. He puts me in one corner, and goes to stand in the other.

"Ready, Birdy?" he says. I am terrified. My knife is gone, he's taken it from me. As I look around, I see all the faces of the tributes looking at the two of us. I can't breathe. I can't do this. He's going to kill me. I'm going to die. "Let's go."

Sage charges at me, and I dart away. I'm faster than him, I realize. I use this to my advantage, bobbing out of the way each time he comes at me. I'm behind him, and I kick the back of his knee. He hit's the mat, but when he does he flips around and his legs push out to kick me in the ribs. I am sent flying, and I hear cheers from the Careers. I hit the mat, and Sage is almost above me. I roll to the side and get up myself. His legs sweep out to kick mine from under me, but I jump up and to the side, and he has to turn again. His fist rushed out but I duck and then my legs are kicked out from under me. I take advantage of this opportunity and roll over my back with my legs extended to kick Sage's groin. He makes a pained sound, and for a second doesn't move, but then he turns. I am already on my feet, and there is a look in his eyes like a wounded animal. Before I have the chance to move, he tackles me, pins me to the mat. His knees straddle me, and his hands hold down both of my wrists above my head. His face is dangerously close to mine.

"Aren't you a pretty little birdy," he says quietly. I don't move. Don't flinch. "But you're a bad, bad birdy. And Sage doesn't like birdies who aren't nice. So let's be nice. What's your name, Birdy?"

"Aven," I say.

"Now, isn't that a pretty name. Are we going to behave, Aven?" his voice is dripping with sweetness, and I know that it's a game to him. I whimper a little, and he presses hard on my wrists, and digs a knee into my stomach. "I said, are we going to behave, Aven?" I cough, and don't reply. He presses harder, and my stomach throbs painfully. He cocks his head to one side and I give in.

"Yes."

As simple as that he stands up and offers me his hand to get up. I don't take it and stand up on my own.

"I don't think I want to be in your alliance." I say, "And, just so you know, I didn't think you were psychotic."

"Do you now?"

I don't answer, instead, I walk past him to where I see Merope, Griffin and Bryn.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need healers?" Bryn says, not giving me time to answer, or himself time to breathe between each question.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, really," I say, pulling away from him. I don't want to seem weak, especially after I just lost a fight.

"Don't baby her," Merope said to Bryn. "We need to seem strong. She's the youngest, she's the smallest, she's the one that seems the most vulnerable. We can't let people, any people, see her as weak. Got it? We're tough." We all nod, and go over to an archery station. Griffin is a natural. The rest of us either miss the target or barely hit the edge. It takes a lot of strength for me to even pull the string back.

When the day is finally over, Bryn and I go up to the 12th floor, where after eating a lavish dinner, we shower and get ready to go to sleep. I lie in my bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. I got out of bed, and opened my door, walking out into the hallway, when I ran directly into Bryn. We both exclaimed as we collided, then sheepishly began to laugh.

"I was just coming to see-"

"Me too."

"Listen," I began, "I'm really sorry. I was sort of mean to you earlier, when you were asking if I was okay. You were being nice, and I was just plain rude."

"No, actually, I wanted to say sorry for treating you like a kid."

"You didn't really. I think it just got blown out of proportion. Let's not be tough. I mean, obviously, let's be tough, but not _mean_. I don't want to end up like Sage. Being tough made him awfully mean."

"You'd have to be, to beat up a girl a third of your size. He's just absolutely enormous! I mean, did you _see_ him!"

"Fairly well, yeah," I laughed, "You know he seemed especially large from my angle, pinned under him. Definitely not one of my most comfortable moments, I'd say." We laugh and are quiet for some time.

"Do you think it'll work? Allying with them?" Bryn says breaking the almost tangible silence.

"Well of course, I mean, we'll live longer. We can win. We can. We just have to stay alive the longest."

"Oh, really? And all these years, I've thought the object was to be the first to die! Silly me!" Bryn joked, and we laughed again. "I think I'm about ready for bed now," my friend said, and I said that it was a good idea for us to get lots of rest. We were going to need all the sleep we could get.

**Blah. So I'm fairly certain that sucked, I changed a bit of the rules, and I switched from present to past tense, so sorry, I beg of you to find it in your heart to forgive me for not having the mental strength to perfect this, and leave me a review to let me know, or I shall believe that everyone in the world hates me, and I'll just be generally grouchy. **

**Also, I may just skip ahead to the interviews, as I already wrote almost a whole chapter on them but I fear I may have to scratch it now as this just evolved out of no where. **

**Byeeeeeeeeee Lovelovelovelovelove!**


	5. Periwinkle and Chiffon

**Oh my goodness, people reviewed! You guys seriously have no idea just how happy you made me :'D On we go!**

Interviews. They were always my favorite part of the Games. Well, the only part I didn't hate. I liked to know about the tributes as people. I was fascinated about how people lived in other districts. Now I would be doing one of those interviews. I would get to meet Iver, and I wasn't going to deny it, I was excited. All of Panem would see me. People from my district would see me, and maybe remember me. Daddy and Malachy would see me and be proud. I was representing our family.

I was excited that morning. Then, when I left my room and went to the breakfast table, my excitement died down. Bryn was staring down at his plate. It was a wonder to me that he wasn't as elated as I was. After all, District 12 had made an impression at the chariots for the first time in ages. There was still hope for us, more so than normal years. If we could only convince the nation to love us in the interviews, we might actually have a fighting chance in the arena.

"Cheer up, Bryn," I said, sitting next to him and filling my plate with assorted breads and butters. I noticed that the plate of my District partner was empty. "Already eaten, have you?" I asked. He shook his head, and I took the opportunity to load the gold disc with even more of the various grains. I set it in front of him and bent over so as to see the face of the boy whose head was hung, his hands on the back of his neck.

"Come on, please," I said. He pushed the plate away.

"'M not hungry."

I stared at him. Not hungry. Never in my life had I been not hungry. Surely, the same went for him. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked.

"No. I feel awful. I have a massive headache and I feel like I'm going to vomit my whole stomach up." At this, my own belly lurched, and I eyed my food almost queasily before eating some more. Yes, I had definitely never not been hungry.

"Have you told anyone? Like Jago or Lala. I'm sure they could give you something for it." Bryn shook his head again. "Well tell you what, I'll go find Lala, and I'll ask what they can give you."

I stood up, took a piece of toast with me, and went to find our escort. I went to her bedroom first, and knocked on the door. She yelled that it was open and for me to come in. I did, and I saw her putting on earrings.

"What is it, love?" she said, her accent as always, was quite grating on my ears, particularly this early in the morning.

"Bryn's not feeling well. Do you have any medicine he could take to maybe make him better?" I asked. I knew that back home he would probably just have to tough it out, but there wasn't time for that here. And besides, he had to be feeling better for the interview.

"Of course dear," Lala said, going into her en suite bathroom and coming out with a purple pill bottle in her hand. "Just give him some of these, about…three…should do I think. Yes, start him with three, and give him more in an hour if he needs them." I thanked her and went back to Bryn. He took the pills and instantly he perked up.

"Mmm, what's this?" he said, pulling a platter of pastries toward his plate. I smiled as I took some from the platter, and went back to my seat.

When it came close to the interview time, we met with our stylists again. Lennox had a beautiful dress for me. It was light blue, made from layers of light chiffon. There were floaty cap sleeves, a simple round neckline and a low back. It came to just below my knees, and when I turned, the fabric rose up and turned too, falling elegantly back down when I had stopped. It wasn't tight, but it was fitted until my waist, where it flared out in an A-line style.

"Do you like it?" Lennox asked me. I loved it.

He handed me over to my prep team, who worked on getting my hair in control. Lennox was there throughout the process, directing them, saying "No no!" and "Ye-es like _that!" _over and over.

I sat quietly and tried to avoid looking into the leopard man's eyes. I actually fell asleep at one point, and when I woke up, I was done. Lennox and my prep team stood over me, and I jumped.

"So glad you're still with us," my stylist joked, and I sheepishly took his proffered hand as he escorted me to where I would put on my outfit. I put on the dress and the strappy silver heels he gave me. Then I was able to look in the mirror.

"Do you like your hair?" Lennox asked. "I wasn't sure what you would have liked. I'm not sure if there's time now but if you want us to straighten it we still could, and then style it that way. I considered it, but thought to stick natural." Straighten my hair? I had never seen my hair in any way but curly.

"No, no, it looks lovely." And it really did. He had wrapped my hair in a large bun at the base of my neck, and around the top of the bun he had put silvery flowers, and silver and blue ribbons. A band of silver encircled my head, like a headband, but a few short auburn strands had been left out, which fell around my face. It was altogether elegant.

"Great! Now, we need accessories!" Lennox clapped his hands, delighted with himself. He led me over to a table full of jewelry. He pored over the table, and glanced at me from time to time, before handing me a silver locket on a tiny thin chain, a bracelet that matched the chain, and then he handed me two hook-looking things, with silver chains dangling from them.

"What are these?" I asked. They looked almost frightening.

"Earrings." Lennox replied. "Now, I assume that you don't have your ears pierced. Of course. Silly of me. But, I don't suppose you would be open to it?"

I must have looked appalled, because immediately, he said "Right, right," and took the earrings from me again.

He looked me over once more, and decided that I was ready. He marched me out of the room and into an elevator which already contained my District partner, his stylist, and our mentor.

Bryn was wearing a forest green suit with a gold tie, the green going quite well with his olive skin and gray eyes.

We said nothing to one another, as the stylists talked animatedly. Jago too remained stony. When we got out of the elevator, we were in a bleak hallway. There was a door at the end, and through the door I could see the line of tributes as they waited to go meet Iver for their interview. The stylists wished us luck and I got a hug from Lennox, who appeared as if he were ready to cry, and they went to sit in the audience. Jago took us down the hall and opened the door. Bryn went in first, and our mentor closed the door quickly behind him, leaving us alone. Bryn turned around, looking at us suspiciously, but at a look from Jago, he filtered into our place at the end of the line.

"Look," Jago growled. Well, his voice always growled, "You don't look like a threat. You come off as vulnerable. Now that can be good and bad. If you act like the sweet little girl from District 12 who misses her family and just wants to go home, who doesn't want to hurt anyone, people may want to help you. But at the same time, there's the risk that you won't get any sponsors because they won't think that you'll make it."

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked. He could have brought this up any time before now, before I was lining up to go onstage in front of the nation. I could have to I supposed. "I mean, how should I act? What do I say?"

"Endearing, but not cutesy. Be elegant, be classy. Don't act stupid. But don't be a know-it-all. Don't talk too fast, don't talk too slow. Enunciate. Not too loud, not too soft. You look beautiful, now act like it too." Jago drew me to him for a second, and it wasn't until after he released me and practically pushed me through the door to my place ahead of Bryn in line that I realized he had hugged me. I looked back, to see him again, get some reassurance just once more from the adult who wanted me to live, but all I saw was his retreating figure, heading the opposite way down the hall.

"What did he say?" Bryn asked.

"He said I had to do this well. We both have to. So we can win." I turned around, and Bryn put a hand on my shoulder. I put my hand on his, as we felt this link of support between us.

I was struck suddenly with a pain in my chest. I realized just how much I missed Garrick. After all, he was the person that I was the closest to. The only person who I could call my best friend. Bryn reminded me so much of him. I thought that maybe, maybe I was trying to make Bryn into Garrick in my mind. I just missed him so much. We had never been apart for more than a day or two. I always knew that whenever I needed him, he would be there. But I needed him now, and miles and miles lay between us. I vaguely imagined him, running across a desert to get here, his legs just circular blurs, and I had to chuckle a little under my breath at the comical, cartoon-like image. But he wasn't coming. I longed so much to see him, to hug him again, and know that everything would be okay, and we would live in that little house in the clearing, covered in Queen Anne's Lace. It would be up to me to get home, so that everything would happen like it was supposed to, and I could see him again. Of course, I had Bryn now too. I resolved to try to stop making him a Garrick substitute.

The first tribute went onto the stage. District 1's female. Polexia. Her score had been high, as had all the careers. I had gotten very lucky and got an 8, as had Bryn. Slowly, so slowly, the line inched forward. I smoothed my skirt every few seconds, the feeling of the light chiffon against my palms was calming, as was the hand that remained on my shoulder. These sensations reminded me that I was still there, and I sensed that Bryn kept his hand on me fore the same reason. Finally, it was just us. I watched as the boy from 11 talked to Iver, and I smoothed my skirt almost roughly. I looked up at the stairs I would have to climb to the stage, and suddenly they seemed mountainous. Surely I would be exhausted by the time I reached the top, I would have sweated off all of my make-up and my dress would be crumpled. But then, it was time for me to start the climb. I turned and hugged Bryn tightly.

"Do good," I whispered.

"Be nice," he whispered back. I turned and climbed the shiny black stairs. They weren't dreadful. Just a few steps and I was up in the wings of the stage. I mentally kicked myself, and laughed at myself for being so utterly stupid. I saw the crowd, and heard Iver announce me, and all the butterflies in my stomach crashed into the adrenaline that was now pumping through me, and I felt nervous, but I also felt that if someone put a boulder on that stage and told me to move it all the way back home, I could do it.

"…AVEN WILLOWSBY!" Iver yelled, and I walked out, smiling and shyly waving a little. Once I was in front of the audience, the boulder-moving sensation left me immediately. I was myself again, though a little more thoughtful of what I was going to say than I normally would have been, and certainly nervous.

I walked to meet Iver in the middle of the stage, and we embraced, he kissed my cheeks. I smiled at him. He ushered me back to my seat, which I gratefully accepted. I sat, crossing my ankles and foling my hands in my lap.

"Well!" Iver boomed. He was so charismatic. "Isn't she just adorable everybody!" the crowd roared, and I smiled, blushing slightly. Iver laughed, and said, "Now Aven, tell us. How do you feel to be here?"

"Well, everyone has been so lovely," I began, trying to think of what would sound the nicest to the capitol ears of the crowd, "And it's so beautiful here. Really, I've never seen anything quite like it." Laughter.

"I bet you haven't! Surely though, you must be missing your home, your family, your friends?" Iver asked.

"Oh well, of course. I mean, they're so important to me, I've never been away from them for so long before, and I always had someone with me."

"You say they, who is they? Who's watching you back home right now?"

"My father, my brother Mal, and my best friend Garrick. They're really the only people I know, and I love them all so much. Hello you three, if you're watching!" I waved to the camera, smiling widely. This seemed to be a good move, as there was a collective "awwww" from the crowd. I realized that I was dangerously close to the cutsey line, if I hadn't already leaped across it.

"Garrick, you say." Iver made a sort of hmmm noise, wiggling his eyebrows, and laughing with the audience, as I smiled, unsure of what to say or do, but determined not to show so. "Tell us about Garrick."

"Well, I've known him since I was a little girl, and we've been best friends ever since." Another awwww.

"How do you think Garrick felt when he saw you in that dress during the opening ceremonies? You looked beautiful by the way, so creative!" the host emoted.

I chuckled a little. "Well actually, Garrick calls me his canary, and obviously we were canaries, so I think he was probably rather amused." The audience split between awwwwing and laughing, and I felt like I really was doing well.

"Why canaries? Why is that your pet name and why were you dressed as them, both by the way."

"Well, I'm not sure exactly why he calls me that, but we were dressed in their feathers because they are sort of a symbol in our district. In the mines there are caged canaries, and if they stop singing, they have died, and then the miners have enough warning to get out before they too die, if of course the reason is gas or poisonous fumes. They've kind of evolved into a symbol of hope, and of courage."

"Well, Miss Aven, I look forward to seeing you be the symbol of courage and hope for District 12 in the Arena. Unfortunately, time is up, so I bid you, adieu," Iver said, standing up, and offering me his hand, which I took. He hugged me again, kissed my cheeks, and I walked across the stage, down the stairs that descended into another room, where Lennox, Jago and Lala were waiting.

Lennox took my hands in his, and told me I had done beautifully.

"Good." was all Jago said.

We watched Bryn do his interview on one of the screens. He wasn't nervous at all it seemed, and he and Iver laughed and laughed. He was good. When he came back, I hugged him.

"You were really good!" I told him.

"You too," he said.

When we were back in out apartment, we showered, and went to bed. I fell asleep fairly easily.

I dreamed.

**Soooo I decided to cut it off here, and I'll continue from there in the next chapter, which I shall start on….now. I'll try and update sooner, but school starts Wednesday, so it may be a little difficult. In other news, the Hunger Games movie has inspired me to write more and faster, so I'll just cut this off and get to it! Kbaii! Xoxoxoxoxoxoxox ;) Review pleaseee! **

**Love always!**


	6. Pine Needles and Nightmares

**Alrighty, continuing right on!**

I dreamed.

I dreamed that I was in the clearing back home. The sky was clear, a perfect blue, not a cloud in sight. I heard the noises of the forest, the birds singing, animals scampering through the brush, the wind whistling through the leaves in the trees. I laid back, felt the grass crinkle beneath me. It was somewhat dry, and I could feel the blades prickling against the back of my neck. I shifted my head to look to my right, and I saw Garrick emerging from the tree line, carrying three rabbits slung over his shoulders. I laughed when I saw him, and I got up. He dropped the rabbits and ran towards me and I ran towards him. We met in the middle of the clearing. I threw myself into his open arms, and he picked me up, spinning me around in his hug. It was a moment of pure happiness. For some reason, It had been a very long time since we had seen each other.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Garrick said, still holding me to him above the ground. He looked older, now that I looked. Maybe in his early twenties. He had stubble. "Av, you don't look any different than you did when you left," he said, somewhat surprised.

"And you look very different than you did when I left."

"Aven," he said, putting me down and holding my shoulders, looking me over, "How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"You've been gone for three years. You were dead. We all saw it. We watched you. It-it was awful. But you were dead."

"What do you m-" I was cut off as Garrick dropped to the ground, pulling me with him. The sky darkened, and above us, a hovercraft appeared. A booming voice coming from the craft.

"**Garrick Hart. You are a wanted fugitive, to be tried for crimes against the Capitol. Surrender yourself at once, or we shall forcibly remove you from the premises and you will be taken to the Capitol to await a verdict." **I looked to Garrick, and saw the firm set line of his mouth, and knew that he was going to run.

"Aven, go. Go find Malachy. Go to him, don't go looking for your dad. Run, Aven, go!" He was up like a shot, and I laid belly down in the grass, as I watched men stream down from the hovercraft like water from a spring. I saw them chase after him, and I wasn't aware that I too had started to run towards them until I was right behind a man in a white jumpsuit. I grabbed his shoulder, and pulled him over, slamming him onto the ground. I proceeded through the lines of men in the same manner, and it was like they were bowling pins, toppling over with barely any effort at all. Three men remained ahead of me, and just behind Garrick.

They pulled out guns in unison, and I screamed.

"NO!" They turned around, and fired their automatic weapons, bullets ripping into my flesh, one after another after another. But although I saw them, saw the blood well up from my wounds, I didn't feel it. I stood there, unable to move, unable to feel. Garrick had stopped too, as soon as he had heard the guns going off, and he was now running towards them. "NO! RUN! RUN!" I screamed at him, as I did, the three men turned their guns on Garrick.

Although they weren't hitting me, I felt every single bullet as it hit him. I screamed as I saw him hit the ground, falling to his knees, then collapsing altogether. The men were suddenly gone, and I ran to my best friend. I knelt next to his body, and pulled his torso onto my lap. His shining gray eyes were open, as was his mouth. I started to cry, but it wasn't crying really, it was a sobbing, keening, wailing, screeching thing. Garrick was dead. Garrick was dead. Garrick was dead.

I felt a pain in my stomach, and on instinct, I looked down, to my own bloody body. I should be dead too. I both felt it physically and emotionally, and I slumped over, onto the ground, with my best friend's head still in my lap.

Blackness.

Then, light.

Blinding white light, that slowly faded into a bright morning sky, surrounded by a forest canopy. I looked around. I was laying in a bed of clover, wearing a white dress. Not a drop of blood on it. I sat up quickly, looking for Garrick. He was gone. I was alone.

I shivered. The dress had thin straps and came to just above my knees, and in addition to the light material, the chilly air gave me goosebumps. I stood up then, and looked all around me. I was definitely in another forest. I heard a noise somewhere to my right, and I started walking in that direction. I realized that I was barefoot, and I enjoyed every step as my toes grazed over the small clover leaves.

Soon, I saw a flash of red. I ducked behind the trunk of a big tree, and watched. A little girl, maybe seven years old, with long, curly, auburn hair. She stopped in front of a tree, and threw a small bag up into the branches, where it was caught by a boy just a little older than her, with dark hair. She then jumped to grab the lowest branch and pulled herself up, climbing until she sat on a branch by the boy.

"Daddy gave me apples. He thought I was going to the Reaping today too, and I told him I wasn't but he gave me them anyway." she said, as the boy opened the bag with an exclamation of surprise. He handed her an apple, and ate one himself. They were quickly gone, and they tossed the cores down to the leaf strewn earth below. There was one apple left, and the two shared it, each taking one bite and then handing it to the other. When that fruit was gone, and the core had been discarded, they talked.

"Are you scared? Cause of Mal going in?" the boy asked the girl.

"No." the girl said, obviously too stubborn to say that she indeed was terrified.

"S'okay. I'm scared for Lanny. You can be scared for Mal."

"Yeah. I'm scared for him."

"Bet he won't get picked though. He's just 12."

"He took tesserae though. For me him and Daddy."

"Still, that's just 4. Lanny has nine. And I know some big kids have theirs in about 50 times. No really!" he defended, at the exhale the girl had given him.

"Still scary though."

"At least you're not going in. You're safe."

"Not with Mal gone, if he gets picked."

"If he does, I'll protect you, don't worry."

"And if Lanny does, I'll protect you."

The boy laughed at this, saying no, he was supposed to protect her, he was older, and he was the boy. Indignantly, she said that that was no reason that she couldn't protect him, and she would too.

"I can't let you, I'm a gentleman."

"Are not, you're a scruffy ruffian!"

"Am not!"

"Scruffy ruffian!"

They collapsed into fits of laughter as the girl said "scruffy ruffian" imitatiang the voice of the old man who lived between their houses, and constantly limped outside to wave his cane at them and tell them to bugger off, scruffy ruffians.

When they stopped laughing, they were silent, looking about the woods.

"Gare?" the girl said.

"What Av?"

"Promise we'll never ever not be friends?"

"Promise. But you have to promise too."

"Promise."

There was another silence.

"Hey Av?"

"Yeah Gare?"

"Are we gonna get married someday?"

"I don't know. Maybe, I guess."

"Hmm. That would be fun. We could live together."

"It would be like a sleepover everyday!"

"With no bedtimes!"

They laughed again, and then- "Aven! Garrick! Aven! Garrick!"

The two children dropped out from the tree, and ran away from me, towards the sound of the voice calling them.

The trees started to spin, I tried desperately to keep my balance, but as the spinning reached incredibly fast speeds, I fell, and as soon as I hit the ground, the spinning stopped. I sat up, and saw Bryn beside me.

"Hurry! They're coming!" he hissed, and I got up quickly. I became aware of Griffin and Merope there too, and we were suddenly all running. I ran as fast as I could, but it felt as though someone were pulling the small of my back, making it difficult to move forward. The trees ahead of us started to shift and wobble, and they turned into a sort of tunnel shape. It felt as if I were trying to run through syrup.

From somewhere behind me I heard yelling.

"Where's the birdy? Here, Birdybirdybirdy!" This was the Games. The Careers were behind us, and Sage was calling for me. He wanted to kill me.

I felt myself being pulled backward, and I was spun around to face him. Sage.

"Hey there, pretty little Birdy," he said, and drove a sword into my stomach, twisting it around, and holding my chin up, forcing me to look at him. He let go, and pushed me off of his blade with his foot. This time, there was light, then darkness.

I was caught, tangled up.

I lashed about, and felt arms pushing me down. I became aware of myself screaming, and fighting with all my will against whoever was holding me.

"Shh, shh." repeated the person, over and over, and I stopped struggling. I realized that I was in my bed, and I had been tangled in sheets. I focused in on the face of Malachy.

"Mal? Mal, is that you?" I whimpered, clutching to him as if I were afraid he would disappear.

"It's me Aven. It's okay. I'm here."

"Mal, I died. I'm going to die Mal. I'm going to die!"

"No, no, hush baby, hush. You're not going to die. I promise. I won't let you die."

"Yes, I am! He killed me, and I was there, and he killed me!"

"You're not there. You're not there, baby. You're just twelve honey, you won't get picked. I promise you."

"But what if-"

"No, baby. You'll be alright. You'll always be alright. After all, you're my little sister."

I smiled, and hugged him tighter, snuggling closer to him. "You swear, right?"

"Cross my heart."

I fell back asleep.

I was in the Arena again, and I was once more face to face with Sage.

"I'm sorry." he said.

"Why?"

"Because I like you Birdy, I really do, and I'm sorry but I have to."

"Have to what?"

"I have to kill you, and I'm so, so sorry."

"You don't have to."

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry, Aven."

"Please," I said, starting to back away from him.

"Don't," he choked, walking towards me, and raising his sword.

"Please, not like that!" I cried.

"Stop! Stop it!"

"No, not that way, please! Just, please, no, just break my neck. Here, just put that down, and you can break my neck. Please."

"Don't, stop it!" He yelled, brandishing the sword. I backed into a tree.

"Please…."

He was trying no to cry I saw, which was better than I was doing. I sunk down to the ground, my back against the tree bark. He crouched down by me, and put down his sword. He gingerly cupped my face in his hands, and brushed away a tear with his thumb. He stroked my cheeks, and he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. He leaned forward, and kissed my forehead. One of his hands traveled to the back of my neck, and the other to my chin. He tilted my face up to his and kissed me. Then, before I realized what had happened, I was dead. He had broken my neck.

I was tangled up again. I screamed, and tried to get free. Again, I was held down.

I looked up, expecting to see Malachy, but I didn't. Instead, it was Bryn who was holding me. He drew me up and wrapped me in his arms.

"Hush, hush."

I realized that when I had woken up all those times previously, I had been dreaming. Now, in the dark room, just barely illuminated by lights of the city shining through the window, I knew I really was awake. I shivered, but I wasn't cold. Bryn gathered me closer.

"You know," he began, "I used to sing to my sister when she had nightmares." I looked up, silently asking him to sing now. He did. "Deep in the meadow, under the willow, a bed of grass, a soft green pillow…."

I had stopped crying.

"I'm sorry that I woke you up. You didn't have to come in here." I told him. "But, I'm glad you did," I added. "Thank you."

"No problem." He got up to leave, and as I laid back down he pulled the blankets up around me. "Until tomorrow morning m'lady." he said, leaving.

I realized something else then. He had become like my older brother, and I had become like his little sister. I smiled a little in the darkness, and I fell asleep again, knowing that I had a brother just across the hall.

The morning was a blur. We were whisked onto a hovercraft and flown to the arena. A girl from one of the middle districts had a panic attack when the woman who was coming around and putting trackers in our arms tried to inject one into her arm. The girl's screams echoed throughout the hovercraft and rang in my ears.

Then, it was time. We were taken beneath the Arena, and into separate rooms, where a glass tube was waiting. Lennox was waiting for me there.

He extended his arms, and I dazedly walked into the embrace.

"Don't step off early, remember, and don't run into the bloodbath. You're smart. Alright? Just run, and find Bryn, and the other two. If you can't right away, just meet up with them later. I believe in you. Now go out there and win." He kissed the top of my head. "You have your token?"

I nodded, and pulled the silver locket out of my shirt. I opened it to show him the pictures inside. They were black and white, and looked to be in very poor condition, but you could clearly see the people in them. On the left were two people, Garrick and I. I was on his back, hugging him around the neck, while he was holding me up by my knees. We were both laughing. I remembered exactly when that picture was taken. Malachy had bought an old camera, and one roll of film. It had been a year ago maybe, and he had just recently saved up enough to get the prints. He made sure to get that picture, and the other one in my locket in sizes small enough to fit in the piece of jewelry. The other picture was actually a picture of a picture. It was of Mammy, Daddy, Mal and I, before my mother died. My parents stood on either side of Mal, each with one hand on his shoulder, and the other around each other. Malachy was holding my on his hip, and we were all smiling. That picture was particularly grainy, but I treasured both.

"Beautiful," Lennox said. "Here." He handed me a dark green jacket, and I put it on.

A loud voice told me that I had 30 seconds to be in the tube. I hugged Lennox tightly, panicking.

"It's okay, it's okay," he said, and he pushed me towards the tube. I stepped in, and a door sealed me in, as the pedestal started to lift up. I put my hands on the sides, as if maybe I would be able to get out. Then, I got a last glimpse of Lennox, with a hand over his heart, and I was in the Arena. I looked around. Bryn was four people to my right, Merope was two to my left, and Griffin was several people to my left, almost exactly across from me. The countdown began. I surveyed the area. We were on a beach, and not far from where we were the sand disappeared into trees. The cornucopia was overflowing with weapons and supplies. There were backpacks scattered about the beach. I saw one closest to the tree line, and I decided to run for it.

Ten seconds left.

I swallowed.

Five.

I shifted my weight onto my right foot.

Four.

I braced myself.

Three.

I looked at Bryn.

Two.

I looked at the backpack.

One.

I bent forward.

Zero.

I took off.

I was almost there. Almost….Yes. I grabbed the backpack and spun around. I saw Bryn behind me, yelled for him to hurry.

And then, Sage was behind him. He had a giant sword, and he drove it into my friend's back. I saw the blade protrude from his stomach. He looked at me, surprised. And then he fell. Sage pushed him off of his sword with his foot. He smirked at me, as I screamed. He stepped over Bryn, and I was unable to move. Dead. People were dying, _children_ were dying! Everywhere, I heard screams and saw blood.

"Well if it isn't the little Birdy. How ya doing sweetie?" Sage said. I was frozen.

"Aven!" I turned my head, and saw Merope running towards me. She grabbed my hand, and pulled me away. Suddenly, it was like my brain had just turned back on. I sprinted away from the bloodbath, and into the forest.

One would assume that it would be a jungle, but on the contrary, it was a pine forest. Merope and I kept running for hours. I was ahead of her, as I had more experience in the woods than she, and I hadn't slowed down since we got off the beach.

BAM.

For a second, as I fell down, I thought I was dead. But then, I was picked up, and looked into the face of Griffin. He hugged me, and I hadn't had time to really get my bearings before my face was pressed into his jacket. It was quite uncomfortable. He released me, and I was able to breathe again. Merope caught up with us, and the two of them started discussing shelter. I looked around, and up towards the canopy. I couldn't even see up high in the trees, as the upper branches were completely hidden by the pine needles. I started climbing.

"What are you doing?" Merope hissed, and when I didn't answer, "What is she doing?" phrased to Griffin.

"Being clever…." Griffin said, chuckling. He started climbing up behind me, and Merope soon followed.

I climbed to the highest branch that was big enough to support me, and I sat down. I opened my backpack and looked at it's contents. Griffin took a branch a little below mine, and Merope took one on the other side, between Griffin and my branches. Each of them had also managed to get a backpack. There were sleeping bags, iodine, rope, matches, and a water bottle. The same was in the other two.

"So…where's the other one?" Griffin said.

"Dead." replied Merope.

"Oh, sorry kid," he said, directing the apology up to me. "The girl from my district died too. I didn't really know her. I don't think she talked to me once."

"The boy from mine's still alive. It's a wonder, really. I suppose he's smart enough, but he's not very physical."

"I saw him in training. He was…wispy." I said, trying to find the right words to describe the boy from 5.

"Yeah. That he was." Griffin said. "One of us should stay awake. I'll do it. You two need to rest."

"No, we'll take shifts. Besides, you should rest first, you actually fought at the cornucopia." Merope told him, saying that she would take the first shift.

"Really, I'd rather. I'm afraid that if I go to bed now I'll never be able to wake up when it's my turn."

"I think you should go third then," I said, "you'd just be waking up early. Merope, why don't you go first. I won't have a problem waking up. I don't think I'll be able to sleep much anyway." They agreed.

"Alright. But make sure you do get some rest. I sat by Bryn on the hovercraft and he told me you didn't sleep well last night. You're useless if you can't move." I nodded, and tied my waist to the branch. I pulled myself into the sleeping bag, and settled down, closing my eyes. When I did, the backs of my eyelids reflected death. I saw the same images over and over at a breakneck pace, Bryn's murder being the most frequent. And then I would see Sage step over his body.

I didn't sleep at all. But when Merope climbed up to my branch and put a hand on my shoulder, I let her think I had. I felt better being awake. I knew I would be very tired in the morning, but I wanted to stay up. I never woke Griffin. I hadn't known he had fought in the bloodbath. I was surprised he was still alive. I looked down at him and noticed for the first time the blood dried onto his hands.

Then I thought of Merope's words. _You're useless if you can't move. _I decided to wake him up. After all he had several hours of sleep so far. And I would not be useless. I was going to help us to stay alive, because there was no way I was going to die.

**Whoo! Well, glad that's out of the way. I've been suuuuper busy with school starting and auditions and all sorts of assorted business. Thanks if you had the patience to read this far, this was all so scatter-brained and I feel like it dragged on and on, so sorry about that. Lovelovelove! Please let me know your thoughts in the reviews They just make me oh so happy! 3**


	7. Rope and Iodine

**Just added a bit onto this that I wrote ages ago. Again, I've just been insanely busy. I have tech week starting in two days for the Nutcracker and we're opening Friday, so it's been insane! Anyway, this is pretty short, but I hope it's at least a little something. I'll try and write more soon ****J **

**I woke up to birds. I had thought that once I got here, I would wake up and think I was home. You always heard people say that. But when I woke up and heard the mockingjays singing, I didn't think for a second that I was home. Maybe it was because I hadn't been fully asleep at all, with a knot in the bark of my branch digging into my back, and being too scared to fall asleep for fear of falling out of the tree altogether. Then again, falling while I was asleep would probably be a nicer way to go, but that was ridiculous. I needed to stop thinking that way. **

"**Pst, pst Aven, are you up?" **

**I swung my head down and smiled at Griffin. "Good morning," I said, quietly, so as not to wake Merope, or alert anyone that we were here. He smiled back, and stretched. **

"**So you are up then," he said. "Think we should wake her?" he nodded towards Merope. I replied in the affirmative, and told him I would do it. I untied the knot around my waist quickly, then scampered around the tree to the branch above Merope's. I hung over, and whispered to her, telling her to wake up. **

**She did, and immediately started to sit up and gather her few things. I went back to my own branch and did the same. I gathered my rope up and put it in my backpack, then rolled my sleeping bag up and put it in as well. When all three of us were ready to go, we climbed down. There was no one around the immediate area, we had already checked, and we then had to decide on a course of action. **

"**We should hunt. Find food, that is," Merope said. **

"**We should find water first," I said, "We'll die of thirst before we die of starvation."**

"**We need both." Griffin said. "I'd say we should all split up, but I don't like that idea very much. Too dangerous."**

"**Can we afford not to?" Merope asked. **

"**Yes," he said. "Animals and water won't likely be far apart. And besides, better all three of us are there if we need to kill anything, or even get water, that way we'll all be able to fill up our bottles. And need I mention that we're safer together than separated. I don't want anyone out of the other two's sight. Literally. If we can just keep visuals on each other, we should be safer." He was not to be swayed in this opinion, and as it did make sense on some counts, Merope and I did not say anything further. **

**We began walking towards the left, or what was left and right to us, having come from two separate directions. We already knew that there wasn't water coming either way, so we tried a different one. **

"**We'll need to use the iodine to purify the water," Merope said, "and it might not be a bad idea to filter it either, if the water by the beach was salty, which I'd bet anything it was." Griffin and I both agreed with her, and didn't say anything to show so. **

"**Wait though, what if someone gets hurt? We should save some for that." I said suddenly. **

"**Well of course, it's not as if we're going to use all of it on just a few sips of water," Merope said, rather patronizingly. She rolled her eyes to Griffin, presumably so I wouldn't see. But I did. And I think that not only did she know, she wanted me to see. As soon as she turned around again, Griffin gave me a sort of apologetic grimace, the kind that one person gives another when they want to say, sorry, that was really rude of them, and I don't agree. I tried to return the kind of crooked smile/smirk people give other people when they want to say, yeah, thanks. Merope was in front of us, and Griffin and I were almost next to each other, but he was just the slightest bit farther ahead than I. **

"**So how are you doing?" He asked, quietly, so Merope wouldn't hear. I noticed that an order had quickly been established. Merope thought she was the cleverest, that Griffin might occasionally have some good ideas, and that I was useless, just dragging along because the other two felt bad for me. Griffin of course in turn thought that he was the cleverest, that Merope certainly wasn't, and he knew that I wasn't an extra mouth, another liability. I thought I was the cleverest, of course, and I also believed myself to be a great asset to out alliance. Then again, I was thinking with a little bias. But Merope thought she was better than Griffin and I, and so the two of us bonded much in the same way that children do when there is a particularly nasty and strict teacher. "About the kid from your district, I mean," he finished. **

**I wasn't sure how I was doing. I felt as though I should have been going mad, but on the contrary, I was keeping a level head. I was absolutely fine, and that absolutely terrified me. "Alright. What was I expecting anyway, if I was ever going to win, it would mean that he died anyway. Now he's done suffering."**

"**Good. Hey, when this is all over, I hope it's either you or me that won."**

"**I do too."**

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated as always 3 **

**xoxoxo**


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